Magnetawan River silt issues addressed

CONSTRUCTION SITE

ARMOUR – The pressure is on the owner of a solar farm under construction on Chetwynd Road to clean up their act.

“The DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) is on it. They have issued an Inspector’s Direction, which is very forceful,” said Stephen Scholten, fisheries biologist with the Ministry of Natural Resources during the Jan. 8 meeting of Armour council.

It was determined the construction site is the culprit in sending large amounts of silt and sand into the Magnetawan River east of Burk’s Falls. Multiple mitigation strategies have been put in place. But to date, the contamination is still happening. Scholten said the DFO is stepping things up.

“Inspector’s Direction is one step below issuing charges,” said Scholten.

Armour council invited representatives from the ministries of the environment and transportation, the DFO and MNR to participate in a discussion of the ongoing silt contamination of the Magnetawan River. Scholten was the only person to agree to attend.

“In a nutshell, they weren’t that concerned,” Reeve Bob MacPhail told those in the packed gallery as the meeting got underway. “The MTO said it’s not their fault… The MOE didn’t seem concerned and were fine with how it’s being dealt with. The DFO was a bit better. They have actually been to the site and know what’s going on.”

Since receiving a number of complaints from residents regarding the amount of silt in the Magnetawan River in recent months, the MNR investigated and determined there was cause for concern in protecting fish habitat and spawning areas.

Silt and sediment refers to the fine-grained soil particles that form the beds of lakes, rivers and streams. It is natural to find silt and sediment in water but problems result when excess amounts are introduced into the water, which can harmfully affect water quality.

Following heavy rain, residents have reported seeing the Magnetawan River looking like chocolate milk because of the high levels of silt in the waterway.

Initially it was believed the silt originated from a property on Mag View Drive that the MTO had used as a dumping ground for soil and vegetation that was removed during the four-laning of Highway 11. But through investigation, it was determined that the solar farm property, which has been cleared of all vegetation and is currently under construction, is the source.

“They have been relatively cooperative, but it is a difficult situation to control,” explained Scholten. “I don’t think they really fully understood the scope of the problem.”

Scholten said he doesn’t believe there will be a major impact on the river because the silt doesn’t seem to be settling in areas with a stronger current.

Scholten also said he doesn’t believe the silt will have an impact on Blanding’s turtles, an Ontario Species at Risk, as they build their nests on dry land.

Some attendees mentioned concern of chemical contamination of the solar farm site because it was previously used for farming.

Scholten said the concerns were unfounded.

“I don’t think there’s any reason to believe there is chemical contamination of that site,” he said. “If there is then you need to be worried about every other acre of farmland in the township.”

Scholten said the main complication at the solar farm site is the discovery of a tile bed, which is allowing the silt to escape despite mitigation strategies being in place.

“There are miles of silt fencing around that property,” he said. “They just haven’t figured out the right thing to contain it yet. Realistically, you’re going to have problems with any large industrial project. I think it’s inevitable. You run into things you didn’t expect.”

Because the MOE is responsible for approving solar energy projects, Scholten said anyone with concerns regarding this project or the solar project in the works for Highway 520 should make their concerns known to that ministry.

He said as the Highway 520 project reaches its public consultation period, residents should make sure they are part of the process to ensure a similar situation doesn’t occur at that site as well.

MacPhail said he hopes Armour, Ryerson and Burk’s Falls can work together to protect the river moving forward.

“What’s been going on can’t go on anymore,” he said.

Members of Ryerson council, including Reeve Glenn Miller, attended the meeting, as well as members of local community groups, including Paul Van Dam of the Pegg’s Mountain Group.

“We have all of these representatives from different groups coming together here tonight. Maybe this is something we can all work together on since it’s obviously important to all of us,” said Van Dam.